Chapter 49
“Come to think of it, Kiri-chan-senpai, did you come here to recruit people, too?”
“Indeed. I heard this year’s first-years were a promising bunch, so I came to see for myself whether there were any talents like you, Zephyrus-kun, being overlooked.”
“Someone like me, huh? But how much do you know about me, Kiri-chan-senpai? No offense, but I don’t think I’m quite impressive enough to warrant the vice-master of an A-rank guild personally recruiting me...”
By my reckoning, A-rank guilds were made up of the elite of the elite. It was only natural for them to be staffed entirely by upper-tier Jobs, and even a single lower-tier Job could let B-rank guilds get the better of them.
Even if I was 【Hero】, a lower-tier Job wouldn’t cut it. Surely it’d be normal to wait until I ranked up to an upper-tier Job before recruiting me.
But this was real-life 〈Dan-Katsu〉. I’d heard before that there weren’t many upper-tier Jobs around.
Which meant reality probably differed quite a bit from what I was used to. Honestly, I wanted to get at least some sense of what A-rank guilds in real-life 〈Dan-Katsu〉 were like.
“What are you talking about? Not only do you have the rare Job of 【Hero】, you also have the drive to keep improving instead of resting on the laurels of a talent most people would only encounter in legends. I hear you cleared the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉 faster than anyone else in your year, then cleared two 〈Lower Beginner Dungeons〉 faster than anyone else, too, and you’re about to take on an 〈Intermediate Beginner Dungeon〉.”
Wow. My reputation had spread that far?
Of course, no one seemed to know I’d just cleared the 〈Stillwater Underground Dungeon〉, but apparently I was attracting more attention than I thought.
Kiri-chan-senpai continued.
“How could I not try to recruit someone with such extraordinary talent? After talking with you, I can tell you’re not the sort to grow complacent, are you? Someone who keeps moving forward is bound to achieve great things unless they hit a wall. And you don’t seem to consider any wall a wall at all, do you?”
Damn, Kiri-chan-senpai was good. Not only was there one compliment after another, but Kiri-chan-senpai’s ability to read people was incredible, too.
I mean, was it really okay for the vice-master of an A-rank guild to praise me that much?
What was with Kiri-chan-senpai? Was this an attempt to make me feel on top of the world? If Kiri-chan-senpai kept praising me like that, I’d get carried away. Seriously.
How was I supposed to respond to all this praise?
Should I be modest? Or accept it? The answer I came up with was...
“Oh, by the way, I just finished clearing the 〈Stillwater Underground Dungeon〉. Starting tomorrow, I’m heading for the 〈Wild Herb Grassland Dungeon〉. Maybe I’ll clear that one, too.”
I got carried away.
I mean, I couldn’t help it. Being praised feels great.
Back when I was playing the game, no one ever praised me. If anything, hardcore gamers were the ones people looked down on.
Getting praised for playing games is the best!
“See? I told you. I’ve never heard of anyone clearing an 〈Intermediate Beginner Dungeon〉 barely a week after enrolling. I truly regret not being able to recruit you, Zephyrus-kun.”
But Kiri-chan-senpai didn’t seem bothered in the slightest and kept complimenting me, so I felt great.
Kiri-chan-senpai kept praising me so much after that, I almost forgot my original purpose.
When Kiri-chan-senpai said, “Oh, that student has real potential,” and praised a first-year who wasn’t me, I remembered that I’d come here to recruit people, too.
“Kiri-chan-senpai, did you find anyone promising?”
“Yes. There was a first-year one of our guild members had been keeping an eye on, and I came today to assess him myself and decide whether to recruit him.”
Ah, I see. So that was why the vice-master of an A-rank guild was here—it was like a final interview. And had he passed muster?
“That tall male student over there. His name is Seadan. Apparently, he’s already met the requirements for 【Mighty Fighter】, considered an upper-middle-rank Job among the Fighter-type Jobs, but it seems he’s aiming for the 【Grand Fist Fighter】 above it.”
Fighter-type Jobs are mostly unarmed, hand-to-hand combat Jobs. They’re more attacker-oriented, but they’re pretty versatile, capable of self-buffs, self-healing, and even serving as dodge tanks.
Where Kiri-chan-senpai was looking stood a tall student who looked like a boxer, with a crew cut and conspicuously tanned skin.
Huh. I see. I have no idea.
The game and real life were so different in terms of movement that I couldn’t tell whether someone had potential just by watching them.
But the way he was training wasn’t going to cut it. If he wanted to become a 【Grand Fist Fighter】, he needed to train against monsters... But fighting barehanded was dangerous, so anyone aiming to become a 【Grand Fist Fighter】 was advised to take another Job first, then change Jobs. Alternatively, they could throw money at the problem and equip a mid-tier or higher fist-type weapon.
“They say there are especially few people who become 【Grand Fist Fighters】. He’s got real potential. I hope he does his best.”
With that, Kiri-chan-senpai wrapped up.
It seemed Kiri-chan-senpai’s policy was to help people grow by praising them. Perhaps it was because Kiri-chan-senpai had no hesitation or reluctance about praising others, and did so sincerely. It really felt like Kiri-chan-senpai meant every word, and it felt great.
Hmm, I’ll add him to my list of people to help. He’s a capable student recognized by the vice-master of an A-rank guild. Maybe he’ll end up joining my guild someday.
After that, Kiri-chan-senpai told me about several other promising first-years.
I felt bad about being the only one getting information, so I offered to return the favor, but Kiri-chan-senpai shut me down with a line so cool it could put any guy to shame: “Upperclassmen are supposed to guide underclassmen, so don’t worry about it.”
Still, I couldn’t just let it go, so I decided I’d share some useful information with Kiri-chan-senpai someday.
I’d look over the outstanding first-years Kiri-chan-senpai told me about and consider whether to add them to the guild.